“Listen, not a year goes by, not a year, that I don’t hear about some escalator accident involving some bastard kid which could have easily been avoided had some parent – I don’t care which one – but some parent conditioned him to fear and respect that escalator.”

Another good thing not to do on an escalator: Run up the steps with your hands in your coat pockets. I did that about 20 years ago when I was 7. Tripped and banged my chin on the edge of a step, and I ended up needing a bunch or stitches. Good times…… My chin hurts again just thinking about it.

I gotta wonder why we don’t hear of every other open-toe shoe manufacturer getting sued… I fractured a toe, badly, once when getting it caught in something due to the sandal design. Did I sue? Heck no, I just took it easy for a few days and taped it up. Did it hurt? Sure. But it was my fault, not the shoemaker’s.

They’re sandals. Every joe and jane in america with no sense of intelligence has a pair of sandals, even when they aren’t on the beach. Some people even wear them with socks. Kinda reminds me of the “Golfers Hat” phase people are still stuck on.

The sandals phase started back in the mid 90s after big companies found a market in selling flip-flops with a make over. Back then, one company called Tiva charged about 60 dollars a pair, and people bought them up. Other companies got involved, and you know the rest of the story from there.

I work in a mall in Edina, MN and outside of my store there are 4 escalators. About 6 months ago during the middle of the day we heard blood curdling screams from out in the mall. Peering over the railing what do we see. A little girl with her foot stuck in the bottom of the escalator. The culprit? Crocs.

then you prolly woulda tumbled down them too… so more logically, you could have done what i do with my child, “hey [insert your child’s name], be careful now, watch out on the escalator, and hold onto my hand… get ready to get off and make sure you step over the ledge, so your feet don’t get sucked under”… then you watch them and lift ’em over if they need help.

seriously, lol, how can they say anything, but “Escalator safety is an issue we take very seriously, and we are looking into this report”?… i can see it now, every box of shoes you buy from here on out, will have an escalator warning label… give me a fucking break.

Okay, I’ve read both linked articles (but didn’t look at the one linking the post from Sept.) and where exactly does it seem like either mother was not managing their child? Maybe I missed it.

And because Crocs are so popular with people in certain professions, like Mario Batali, because the extra-grippy bottoms helped deal with kitchen messes, why are people thinking all of a sudden that they need extra traction for a regular street?

Aside from the fact that they’re the ugliest things and they do make your feet smell.

@jaydez: THere is an appropriate audience for everything. Just like you shouldn’t wear dress shoes on a hiking expedition, you shouldn’t wear crocs just anywhere.

My Girlfriend wears them to work, because she is a veterinarian and is on her feet all the time. Supposedly they are confy, and easy to clean. Ugly yes, but practical in that situation. SHe’s got the good sense to not wear them out anywhere else. Some (most) people don’t have the good sense of how to dress. Sweatsuits are also not “going out” wear, and just because pants stretch to fit you, doesn’t mean they look good.

That’s what you get for wearing crocs. The only thing this report tells me is that if you’re dumb enough to wear crocs, you’re probably more likely to be too dumb to use an escalator than the average person…

My three-year-old knows that he has to jump over the comb plate, and I hold his hand. He loves the escalator. We spent 20 minutes just going up and down them. It’s mommy’s fault you’re hurt, kid. Sue her for neglect.

It appears that Crocs needs to stop making children’s shoes. After looking at them, I would never put them on a child. They look like an accident waiting to happen. Children need sturdy shoes that lace, such as sneakers, or the european style sandals with backs on them. Slingbacks not for kids.

@inspiron:And of course dignity is related to whether or not you approve of someone’s footwear.

@riverstyxxx: The point that the company doesn’t care is meaningless to many people here. Their point is to impose their impeccable sense of style and/or trash mothers and children. Heaven forbid we should actually talk about the manufacturer’s cavalier attitude, or the fact they shouldn’t be marketing adult style shoes to children.

When I was a kid, back before people were so sue happy, I had the top of my big toe almost completely cut off in one of those cup and saucer rides at an amusement park. I’d worn sandals and they had apparantely forgotten to put the cover back over the gears that turn the cup round and round. The top of the toe dangled by a thread.

I’m not defending this kid or his/her parents but isn’t the problem with Crocs and escalators (which everyone seems to be missing) that Crocs are non-skid and they ‘stick’ to the escalator and the kid can’t step off?

They were never good looking. Why still wear them after hearing about toes getting swallowed by escalators?Although, it’s not just your toes getting swallowed, it’s your feet’s dignity getting swallowed, too.

@SadSam: That’s not the escalator-maker’s fault! That’d be like suing a concrete manufacturer because their product becomes slippery when wet. They didn’t apply the water and the escalator makers didn’t apply the non-stick to the shoes.

The situation has gotten so bad that they have signs on the Metro in Washnigton, DC with pictures of crocodiles that say “what do escalators and crocodiles have in common? They love to eat shoes…” There were some 200 cases of croc-related escalator repairs necessary last summer because of stupidity.

The croc is made of a hard molded resin, which is pliable and rubbery, but resilient to puncture and tearing.

The croc wearer is standing on the escalator with the toe of their shoe pressed against the front step. Since the croc is designed to have great traction, particularly against hard surfaces, and the entire shoe is of uniform material, the toe is catching against the front step.

Near the top of the escalator, when the front step begins to descend into the escalator, instead of sliding, the toe of the croc is fed between the two steps, pulling the shoe, and the foot within, between the escalator steps.

Because crocs have the same pliable, rubber construction all the way to the front of the shoe, they would be particularly vulnerable to this sort of mishap.

@Hanke: I don’t think they are any more likely to get caught in the comb plate, but once your shoe is fed between the steps, the plate shears off the front of the shoe, along with your toes.

I gotta get me a pair. Think of the lawsuit bonanza.
I get my toes caught in the already balky DC Metro Escalators of Doom (you know they’re bad when they’re constantly under repair and there’s a PSA campaign about escalator safety), while wearing crocs (who the hell would wear such ugly footwear). Whom to sue, whom to sue?
1- Crocs
2- WMATA
3- The DC government
4- The escalator manufacturer
It’s America, sue them all, plus the Department of Labor for not allowing me telework and The US Congress for passing the clean air act incenting me to mass transit.
I love this country.

While we’re on the subject, shouldn’t this be an incentive for croc wearers to climb some stairs. Maybe it’s just living in a big tourist city (washington DC), but the folks who wear crocs in downtown DC are tourists and they usually look like they might be able to put stair climbing to productive use.

Again, it’s about pride (Crocs are uglier than flip flops, but just by a hair).

The spot where the escalator steps slide under the threshold has always been design flaw that has never been addressed to any effective solution.

It seems that with the level of technical expertise that’s able to get us beyond our solar system and out into interstellar space, that something such as an escalator design flaw could be fixed here on Earth.
There would be the usual objections to fixing the promlem such as costs, retrofitting and personal responsibility. However, as long as the design flaws remain, these unfortunate mutilations will continue.

While I think the Croc higher ups are quite insensitive & should address this situation personally instead of blaming it on escalator safety, I do also believe you shouldn’t put your kid in Crocs. Atleast if they’re at home, fine, but out in public, heck no. First of all, they’re butt ugly, and second, due to the construction of the shoe, situations like this & simple trip & fall situations are easy to come by. Kids aren’t the most graceful of beings & they need sneakers or a shoe that will actually help them, not hinder them.

@bbbici: I would think that if your feet don’t smell to begin with, flip flops are the least smelly.

Also, it’s not the fact that Crocs come in different colors or styles,…it’s that Crocs, to pretty much the majority of people posting on this thread, are just really, really ugly. Doesn’t matter how much you dress it up with leather (men’s shoes) or turn it into a flip flop, there are better looking alternatives.

Maybe the kid just needs new parents. When I was kid my mom told me not to put my toes under the stair above mine on the escalator… guess what! I still have 10 toes today becasue my mom is intelligent.

Stupid people shouldnt breed then expect corporations to pay to raise their equally stupid children.

I wear Crocs because my feet swell and the shoes are really comfortable and cool. Ugly? OK, well, they are not strappy sandals with satin bows, but they’re OK and they come in a billion colors. Feet stink? Jesus, people, I wear these shoes because they are washable. So are your feet. Hint, hint.

Companies are not to blame for the stupidity of people, come on dudes, there was a thing called common sense, try to bring it back! btw, what if the kid wasn’t wearing ANY shoes, probably the injury would be worse, please people, maybe i’ll run into a bank’s glass door, tear it to pieces and get horrible cuts all over my body, and i will sue the bank for keeping it’s doors “too clean” ….jesus grow up

i offer, yet again, another smart and witty comment just to have it disappear in the bowels of consumerist.com, never to be seen again….oh well, this is therapeutic for me.

Your feet stink when you don’t wash them; not because you wear crocs…how many others (just in the comments alone) have had a toe injury or near miss with sandals, open toe shoes, heels, etc. on an elevator? This is not a crocs problem…

Don’t you have to prove negligence in this kind of case? When many things can get stuck in escalators (clothing, even other types of shoes, straps/bags, etc) I don’t see how Crocs could be singled out as negligent. People just need to be more careful!

if you read the article, it says the kid is 3 years old, yet was wearing a child size 9 croc. when in fact, crocs do make shoes as small as toddler size 4. maybe this contributed to the shoe getting stuck. i dont think this is croc fault. i think escalators need to be revamped. is it really necessary for them to have 100 sharp metal teeth at the top and bottom?

From now on “my kids” will wear steel-toed boots with buckles (laces can get caught too, you know). The shin-guard will also prevent needless injury, and the spikes can be used for self defense. Total protection.

@Buran: Crocs has deeper pockets and/or more visibility due to being the latest fad.

I’m the first to blame the corporation when they’re actually culpable in some way, but there’s a warning sign right there on the escalator in big bold red letters about the danger posed by riding the escalator wearing sandals or with untied shoelaces. It’s been on every escalator I’ve stepped onto for as far back as I can remember, so at least 25 years. You’d think these kids’ parents might have read it once. It shouldn’t be a company’s responsibility to put labels on their products that say, “WARNING: Ignoring clearly marked warning signs and doing dangerous things while using this product may be dangerous.”

I agree, there is a “kid mangled by an escalator” story every year. ANY show can get stuck in an escalator. There needs to be some sort of fail-safe or monitor that can tell when something is jammed and shuts down the stairs.

@riverstyxxx:
What do you want them to say? “OH GOD IT WASNT OUR FAULT AT ALL BUT BOY ARE WE SORRY FOR THAT”? Then the scumbag lawyer would figure out some loophole where they were admitting guilt. The first thing you learn at any retail job is to apologize for the incident but in no way ever say that it is your fault because Amerika has become a sue happy nation of obese people who can’t make their own money and instead sue and make money off of other peoples innocent mistakes

@zouxou: Granddad, is that you? I thought you died? I’m still wearing my sturdy shoes just like you told me, granddad. Just kidding, but I think the term you’re looking for is quality with support. Not the modern equivalent of “jellies”.

They’re horrid, and should be burned or chewed up for running tracks, but never worn.

As a parent, we go the cheap route on stuff like clothes, but never shoes. Cheap shoes will fark your kid’s feet up.

Escalator Safety? …..It’s a fucking escalator. It doesn’t take much brain power or physical ability to figure it out. When at the bottom, you step onto the perfectly rectangular step, then walk up it like you would stairs, or if you want to be lazy, joyride on it. Then. when you get to the top…you step off. It’s surprising simple.

And unless this was an Itchy & Scratchy cartoon escalator with Razor Blades at the top, I’m not even sure how this is even possible.

If there weren’t crocs then parents would just place their children in cheap 1$ flip flops which are even WORSE for their feet and make them even more prone to injury. Hope you have lots of money to be able to afford those podiatrist bills 10-20 years down the road! Worse yet they would likely jump on the bandwagon that it is necessary to put your kid in a pair of high heeled flip flops or sandals at age 5.

wow…I like how the lawyer indicated that peeling some skin off of her toe was severely and permantently injured…Not that I want any kid to be in pain, but seriously…you don’t watch your child getting off an escalator, so you sue the footwear company, of the shoes that were (seemingly from the article) too big for her? When she learns to ride a bike, are you going to sue the city or the bike company when she falls and skins her knee? Live and learn. Seriously.

also, where is the logic in suing the company that makes crocs? i’m sure flip flops are more dangerous and old navy is still in business. why not just sue the elevator company for making a product that can be dangerous to feet if not used properly?

This happened to me…30 years ago. I vividly remember getting my shoe (yes, SHOE) stuck in an escalator as a kid. I don’t remember actually getting injured because it was a shoe and not a sandal, but it got stuck none the less.

As such, I’d place the blame on the escalators. Wearing Crocs instead of shoes just makes the damage more severe since there’s not much except a bit of foam between your tootsies and the giant metal behemoth.

Escalators have yellow lines and signs for a reason. A good parent teaches his kid to stay away from borders, or an accident can happen. For example, a shoe lace can suck person’s feet inside escalator, too.

@Buran: Aha, in USA. No other civilized country wastes resources on this type of complaints. ANY SHOE and escalators can create an accident. It’s just Crocs is a known brand. It’s easier to sue than a Chinese Walmart running-shoes. And I’m certain that if you compile ALL accidents on escalators, Crocs will be just a little fraction.

There is a nice yellow sign near escalators, that shows that you have to stay away from sides.

@Buran:
No, you could have sued the sandal company, the building you were in where the accident took place, the owners of the land on which it was built, the county, the city, and the state. Think of all the money you would have had! It’s the American dream to win a huge lawsuit. Hell, it’s right up there with winning the lotto or owning your own house with an H3 in the driveway with a full tank of gas. lol. Me being the klutz that I am I would’ve had more money than Daddy Warbucks what with all the pratfalls I’ve taken over the years. I just get up and limp away.

Another thing, what if the kid was barefoot? Can God be sued for designing the kids foot? Or would the escalator company be culpable for not putting “no barefoot or croc covered feet” signs up? I feel bad for the kid. Not only for the mangled toe but for the fact that they are being groomed to be the next gen of irresponsible and greedy border line sociopathic rubes that are already overrunning our nation.

I usually remember to step off the elevator when I get to the top, that way my feet dont run into anythinh. I dont do it cause its safer, I do it because I dont want to stumble on a little ramp that the step goes into. Do people seriously wait until the last second? or try and slideup the little ramp? I dont think I even hit it when I was kid.

I checked this on Snopes which calls these stories true and wrote the following to them:
I think you have fallen for what, apparently, is STILL an urban legend, despite your efforts, about Crocs and escalator accidents. Though you do point out that accidents on escalators happen in different kinds of shoes, you do nothing to alert readers to the anecdotal nature of the stories in your report. In many of them, Crocs have not even been identified as the shoe involved.

If you have ever handled a Croc, it would be apparent to you that there is nothing remotely “soft”, “extremely flexible” or “spongy” about them. They have little give, and are regarded as comfortable only because they compress slightly when worn and do not pinch. If anything, they are leagues safer on escalators than shoes with laces.

Crocs have always been controversial because, first, they offend the fashion- conscious, and second, they are very popular among kids where one would expect it, and even among adults, with some fanatics numbered among them.

They have many imitators who, far as I know, use the same material, so I doubt this fear mongering is coming from them, since their shoes are as safe as Crocs. I would suspect, for instance, Merrill and like manufacturers who have watched in dismay as Crocs have eaten their lunch at a third of the price of their own creations.

I believe at least you should give a more ambiguous grade to this story. Based on what I know about Crocs, (I have no relationship with the company – just a satisfied customer), they deserve only as much blame as can be laid directly at their feet, which appears to be far less than this article would imply.

I am confused how a person can get a shoe (even a cheap piece of crap) stuck in an elevator. How do you do that? The only way I can think is stick the toe part right directly into the edge of the stair as it comes back together toward the top. Wouldn’t that happen with other shoes too?

I agree that Crocs as ugly as hell and totally stupid, but what is that company supposed to say in response? I am sure tons of people get hurt on elevators wearing their shoes and not wearing their shoes. And I’m sure most people can handle wearing Crocs on the elevator. I don’t know what they are expected to do, given the negligence of the wearer–create steel-toed Crocs? They already seem sturdier that foam flip-flops. I also think if they were to apologize to the family, it could be misconstrued as an admission of guilt and make them laible for the damages I don’t think they are responsible for. Maybe it’s just me.